Conformity
by AuraWielder
Summary: "Something strange has been happening in Toad Town. Toads are starting to... change. They lose all unique physical features. They lose their entire identity and personality. And they all become the same. There must be some reason for this. Maybe it was the Sticker Comet Festival? That's when it all started..." A deconstruction of Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Color Splash.


Conformity

* * *

 _January 15, 2013._

 _To the journal of Russ T…_

Journal, things have been… I don't know how to describe it. To be quite honest, I've never seen anything like it before. I don't even really know what 'it' even is. But I suppose I'll do my best to describe it.

It all started during that Sticker Comet Festival we held earlier today. The first thing out of the ordinary was the fact that Bowser tried to take the Sticker Comet. Well, not that he was trying to take it. That's pretty in-line with him. But it was after he touched it that things went weird. Nothing major had happened, but Bowser seemed to lose all ability to speak after he touched the Comet. I thought it was bizarre, because he's usually a blabbermouth. Whether it be kidnapping Princess Peach or being beaten by Mario again, the guy usually never shuts up. But as he kidnapped Peach this time, he was completely and totally dead silent as he retreated to his castle. At the time, I didn't think much of it. But looking back, it was very odd for Bowser to act that way.

Is the Sticker Comet somehow responsible for this? I hope this isn't some sort of omen for things to come.

* * *

 _January 16, 2013._

Things are getting worse, journal. I found out some rather… unsettling news this morning. It hit the front pages.

One of the Toads of Toad Town, specifically the gatekeeper that watches Forever Forest, Fice T, was… different. He's normally a blue colored Toad like me, except with a dark blue robe and spear instead of glasses.

Well… he WAS a blue-colored Toad with a dark blue robe and spear. Was. Past tense. The town discovered that he had changed into a red Toad instead, with nearly any unique features he had stripped away from him.

No robe.

No spear.

White cap, red spots, blue vest, which is pretty much the official appearance of Princess Peach's Toad Guards.

Although I honestly feel like this would've been dismissed as something minor if he weren't for Fice T's new (and even weirder) behavior.

He doesn't recall ever being Fice T. He said that he's always been just 'Toad'. But that makes no sense. It would be like Mario calling himself 'Human'. The species of Toads does have names for a reason. Does he genuinely not remember his name? Did this transformation into a 'Toad' do something to him to make him forgot his name? Honestly, part of me is wishing that Fice T is just pulling one over us, because it's more than a little unsettling.

And he never stops making paper jokes and paper puns. He makes a bizarrely big deal out of the fact that we're all made of paper. It's just like… why is it funny? Being crumpled up or being soggy paper when we go swimming or such… it's strange that he'd try to make so many 'funny' jokes about paper, to the point that the town (myself included) are starting to find it irritating. And Fice T is usually nothing like that. Usually. But this isn't 'usual' by any definition of the word.

I still feel like this is linked to the Sticker Comet incident that Bowser caused. I don't have definitive proof, just a gut feeling at this point. Still… I don't think it's unlikely…

* * *

 _February 5, 2013._

Checking my mail today, I received a letter from none other than Kooper from the nearby Koopa Village. When Mario and I met previously, I found out that Kooper was one of Mario's allies that aided him in his journey to rescue the Star Spirits. That was quite a while back, and Kooper was quite a nice fellow…

But in any case, after getting a letter from him, I decided to look over its' contents. I'll be typing the letter in here for reference:

"Hey Russ T. It's me, Kooper. I got your mailing address and phone number from Mario, as he told my friends and I to contact you if we couldn't reach him. You… may or may not remember me from Mario's big Star Spirit hunt and Princess Peach rescue mission. But whether or not you remember isn't important right now. I have some concerns that I have to share with you.

I've been learning that weird things are going on in Toad Town. Those strange red Toads that have been popping around from the regular multi-colored Toads you usually see. Well… I'm afraid to tell you that I believe something similar might be happening in Koopa Village. I'm barricaded inside my house now, having gathered enough food supplies to last for many months. I only left temporarily to get that letter mailed into my mailbox.

But the whole reason why I'm barricaded like this is because of how awful this whole… I don't know what to call it? Simplification? Mind-digression? Maybe just everyone acting so totally bonkers?

Professor Kolorado probably has the worst of it. What he's turned into… that's not him. He's turned into just… a Koopa Troopa. He's not the brave yet humorous professor that everyone at Koopa Village has known him for. He… his shell color changed from yellow to green one morning. A number of Koopa Troopas do get dye jobs for their shells sometimes, but that's not the concerning part. It's that he's acting so bizarre. He completely blew his wife off on their anniversary, and as forgetful and absentminded he can be, he NEVER forgets something like that. And it wasn't an accident. He INTENTIONALLY blew it off, considering that he told me about his plans a few days ago.

And so he spent the rest of the day playing a game show called "Snifit or Whiff It" deep within Forever Forest.

…He doesn't even LIKE game shows!

And at this point, almost every Koopa Troopa in the village has been affected… except for me. That's why I barricaded myself. I probably won't get a response back, but I thought you should know.

And this will… likely be the last letter you get from me. I don't exactly have a cell phone, and I can't leave my house. It's only a matter of time before this… disease starts to affect me.

Sincerely, Kooper"

So… this is not good. It's not just an issue in Toad Town, but Koopa Village as well? If both Toads and Koopas are being affected, then what's to say this is only affecting those two species? It could likely be any species from the Mushroom Kingdom. Piantas, Boos, Shy Guys, Yoshis, Lumas… maybe even the Star Spirits themselves.

Perhaps that haunting omen I thought about back in January might be right…

* * *

 _March 1, 2013_

Things around town have only been getting worse. Not better.

More Toads have become… I'm still not sure what to call it, but I supposed I'll have to go with 'infected'. Two of the most recent victims of this infection were Minh T., who tends a garden in town as well as the nearby castle gardens, and… The Master, otherwise known as an experienced battler of the local Dojo and VERY powerful.

Both of them… nothing remains of their original personalities. Minh T. has lost all interest in her gardening, and her gardens are withering away as she… well… now he (due to this strange transformation) is more interested in playing 'crumple Luigi and use him as a soccer ball'. Luigi himself had been unaffected by this infection, and since Mario and Peach haven't had anything happen to them during the past two months, it's a safe assumption this doesn't affect humans.

This whole thing is just heartbreaking to see happen around the Mushroom Kingdom. Princess Peach can only do so much to comfort her subjects. And it makes me feel like I could easily be next…

* * *

 _April 10, 2013._

I received an e-mail from someone rather surprising today. I had received that e-mail from Kooper earlier in the year, but this time, I received an e-mail from none other than Bowser's two second-in-command Hammer Bros. They introduced themselves as Matt and Jack in the e-mail, though I admittedly don't know much of them beyond that. Regardless, if I take their e-mail into consideration, this problem could be worse than I first thought. If it wasn't enough that Toads and Koopas were being affected, even Bowser has still been acting serious and silent. I'll paste the e-mail into here for reference.

"To Russ T…

I suppose it's probably weird that we, as Hammer Bros, would be e-mailing you since we're the lieutenants for Bowser's army. And, under normal circumstances, we probably wouldn't. But we feel that we have to discuss something this important with you, enemy or no enemy. Because whatever's going on is greater than that, and you're one of the most intelligent Toads in Toad Town.

You might recall Bowser's odd behavior during the Sticker Comet Festival. Well… we thought it was out of the ordinary, too. After he brought Peach back to his castle, he wouldn't talk to us at all. Not even a friendly 'hello', like the lug normally is. Just silent. Even after Mario beat him, this problem still didn't go away. Either he was adamantly refusing to talk or… that Sticker Comet did something to him. What it would be, we don't know. But Bowser has been like this for the past three months, and it's gotten to the point where he wouldn't even communicate to his son, Bowser Jr. So far, we've been taking care of him, but… Junior is pretty crushed by his father's behavior. Really, the whole kingdom is. We've been in disarray about the whole thing.

The reason we didn't communicate this with you earlier is because we just learned about you from our libraries. We read a number of your books, and we felt that you were the best option to turn to, since Bowser is obviously unavailable. And again, we've been pretty panicked.

And that's not even the end of it! Some of Bowser's own troops have been acting weird as well. Either they're dead silent as Bowser, or they're acting… infantile, I guess? It was just almost surreal when one of our best soldiers, an Elite Koopatrol named Derek Klever was not wearing his Koopatrol armor… and his shell color had changed from a fiery flame red to… green. Just green. It's weird. But it was just even weirder when Klever seemed to act more infantile/immature/whatever you want to call it. He was just trying to trash-talk us half of the time, telling us "In your face!" after he tried (and failed) to complete his normal training course today. And if he was forced to retreat into his shell, he'd tell us "You hit my shell, I hide bro!". It was VERY unlike him.

So, I guess we'd like your advice on this. Have similar things been happening in Toad Town as well? Any Toads and other Koopas acting like this? We'd like your thoughts, and we'd REALLY like your help.

Signed, Matt and Jack."

So it is concerning that even Bowser is acting this way, especially for three months after the Sticker Comet Festival.

Toads, Koopas, and even Bowser… it seems no one is off-limits. I wish we knew of some way to end this…

* * *

 _May 19, 2013_

Four months have passed now since this whole infection began. I've done all the research I could, but I've failed to come up with any answer. There's simply no scientific explanation for what's going on. Honestly, at this point, I've boarded myself up into my house. If my estimations are correct, nearly 97% of Toad Town has been affected by the infection. If that's true… then I'm likely the only 'normal' Toad remaining. And I can't just run away. Kooper's as well as Matt and Jack's letter are most certainly true, meaning that there is NO safe place to hide. I guess I have no choice but to await my doom.

* * *

 _May 21, 2013_

All of the Toads are pounding at my door. Almost the whole town, in fact. With that many, my barricade will hold for maybe… 15 minutes, tops. So… I guess these are my last words.

Mom… Dad… Little bro… I know you guys are among the infected, but I still love you. I always will.

Peach, you've been a great ruler, and I know you've done everything you can to stop this, even if it was all for naught in the end.

Mario, you are one of the bravest humans ever, and you've done so much for our kingdom. You've stopped Bowser's terrorizing and saved Peach from his clutches many times. Even after I go… after the whole town becomes like this… look out for us, OK?

And… Tayce T. I know that you'll never have the chance to see this. But I have to get it out. Tayce T, I lo-

* * *

 _Super Mario Bros. © Nintendo_

 _Paper Mario © Nintendo / Intelligent Systems_

 _Matt and Jack Hammer Bros OCs © AuraWielder_

This is… the first time I've ever really attempted something like this. But I woke up a few mornings ago, and I simply HAD to write this idea down. In short, it's basically an in-universe deconstruction of what's going on with the new Paper Mario titles such as Sticker Star and Color Splash. Mainly, the many, MANY generic Toads in comparison to the uniquely designed NPCs of Paper Mario 64 and The Thousand Year Door. Written as a sort of mysterious infection/disease within the PM universe, I wanted to chronicle as how an in-universe reaction to this would be. It's certainly cleverer than a plain old rant.

Anyway, give me your comments and reviews!


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